I Solemnly Swear
by smkb1990
Summary: Love that survived a war. H/F
1. Hermione

**AN: I don't own Harry Potter! Please read and let me know what you think. It was meant to be a short little one shot** **but it could definitely** **grow into something longer. Maybe I'm the only stuck on Hermione/Fred, but they are such a perfect pair. Anyway let me know if I should continue or just leave it at this. Thank you!**

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 **I Solemnly Swear**

"My turn Harry, give me the locket and try to sleep," said Hermione.

Harry watched her don her coat, and slip the locket over her head. Ever since Ron left their conversations were softer, quieter, both mourning the loss of their red headed friend. She gave him one last small tight lipped smile, and he leaned closer to kiss her forehead.

Ron.

Her heart ached when she thought of him. The hurt he had caused them was something she wasn't certain she'd ever forgive.

After all they'd been through, he left them. Abandoned them, starving, cold and tired. She tried to think of him as little as possible, because deep down she knew that Ronald Weasley was a good man, a good friend. But right now it felt good to be angry at someone, if she was angry she could ignore the sadness and the pain. Being mad at him was as numbing as the cold bitter winter they were stuck in.

It was cold. It was always cold out these days, she couldn't remember what it felt like to be warm. It was during these nights that she let her mind wander. But dutifully kept her mind away from the one that she missed the most.

Fred.

The last time she had seen him they spent hours locked in a tight embrace. It was the night before the wedding, everybody had gone to bed when she snuck downstairs to meet him. He threw her overhead his lap and let his lips drop on hers. She cried, while he smiled and wiped her tears away. She was scared that this might be the last time she would have the chance to be with him, but he promised that they would make it out alive.

"I'm Fred Weasley, nothing can harm," he whispered with a lopsided grin.

After his brave declaration no other words were necessary. They kissed until they both were gasping for air. She pressed her body fully onto his, burying her nose in the crook of his neck, desperate to memorize everything that made this man Fred. His smell of gun powder and tea, the feel of his hands grasping at her hips, the softness of his hair, the feeling of safety he provided, the love so overwhelming that choked her and robbed her of words.

Not once, had she stopped crying. This meeting, tucked away by the hearth of the Burrow, was different from all the others before. They weren't in Hogwarts, running through the halls, looking for a place to share a quick snog. No, to Hermione Granger, this felt like a farewell.

How she wished she could go back to that night and enveloped herself in Fred Weasley's arms. It'd been so long since that night, so long since she felt warm, so long since she hadn't felt hunger. But she had a duty, to Harry Potter, that she would see this war to the end.

Harry.

Harry was one of the few people that knew the truth of her relationship with Fred. After she sent her parents to Australia it had been him that held her countless times as she cried for to muggles that had no idea who she was. And she, in return, held him when the war became too much, when he cried for the unfairness of the world, she kissed his forehead as a mother would a weeping child and he would cling to her begging her not to leave. "I'll always be there," she'd whisper back, repeating it over and over like a mantra.

Thankfully Harry didn't seem as affected, physically at least, from their life in hiding. She always made sure to give the boys as much food as possible, even if it meant she went to sleep with only warm tea in her belly. She had to take care of him, she had to make sure he made it to the end of this stupid war, and when the end came, she had to be certain he was strong enough to succeed.

Harry Potter wasn't as thick as one Ronald Weasley, and while the red headed boy had eaten in silence, Harry hesitated. He took to looking after her in other ways, dropping a blanket on her shoulders, making her countless cups of tea, sneaking her a little bit of chocolate when she seemed dead on her feet. The emotionally stunted little boy, had grown into a wonderful and caring man right before her eyes. It wasn't too long ago that physical affection made him uncomfortable, but now, more often than not, it was him that initiated their hugs. Their affection never ventured beyond a typical sibling relationship, very close, but without the romance.

"I'm going to take care of you Mione," he told her once. "I promised him I'd look after you, I promised him and myself."

She smiled remembering that day. The world was truly going to hell, and there was Harry, holding her hand and giving her a warm smile.

But her smile was quickly replaced by a shiver as the cold penetrated her coat. The bitter wind brought her back to their little tent in the middle of the Forest of Dean and the never ending snow. She ignored the dropping temperatures and pulled open the first two buttons of her coat reaching for the silver chain she had taken to wearing. Hanging delicately from it was a ring, a plain white gold band. Looking at it always made her cry, because it reminded her of what she had left behind.

It wasn't her mother's ring as she had told Ron, and it wasn't the promise ring Harry thought it was.

She pulled the band off the chain and slip the ring on the third finger of her left hand. The bright metal hung loosely on her now too skinny finger. Unable to keep looking at it, she slipped it off.

There was a tiny inscription on the inside, she read it silently. Allowing the words to sooth her aching heart, it was a promise, a declaration, the essence of what she and Fred were. The three words, carved on this bit of gold managed to renew her strength. She clutched the ring to her heaving chest. Suddenly, in her mind, the token transformed, from a reminder of everything she had left behind, into a beacon of hope, proof of everything she had left to fight for.

Capricious tears escaped her tightly shut eyes, but no, she wouldn't cry anymore. She would fight to stay alive long enough to see Fred again. Long enough to have the life they had dreamed of.

She thought of Harry, and Ron, and her parents, and the Weasleys, and her friends. But this time, instead of avoiding any and every thought of Fred Weasley, she remembered him fondly, laughing with her, whispering loving words in her ear, holding her close, she remembered the love of her husband.

"I solemnly swear…" she read the inscription out loud.

 _To love you._

 ** _R &R!_**


	2. Harry

**Chapter 2: Harry**

Harry Potter was surprisingly perceptive. He was perceptive and also in possession of the Marauders Map. It didn't take long for him to find out about them. He'd seen her name running alongside his for years.

But it was during a snowy night in November of his sixth year that he noticed them sneaking back into Hogwarts through the Honeydukes passage, which wasn't unusual, especially since her companion no longer attended school. What was unusual, was the little dot that marked her current location. He'd read her name a million times before, _Hermione Granger_ , but this time it didn't say that. Hermione Granger, was no longer a Granger, the map clearly showed a Hermione Weasley running next to Fred.

He could hardly blame them, trying to find a little happiness in this hell, the world needed their bit of love. The following morning he took his usual seat next to her, she was still the same girl he'd known for the last six years, with the same wild curls, with the same soft eyes, and even with the same battered copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ in her hands. But she looked different, glowing, smiling with her eyes, with a soft rosy blush dusting her cheeks.

"You look happy," he mention.

She turned to him and tried to flatten his hair with one hand. "I am," she replied, her eyes sparkling.

The next time he saw her as happy was during Bill's wedding. She danced and laughed wrapped in her husband's arms. She looked so blissfully happy that he considered leaving her behind if it'd mean sparing her the pain that was to come. Their happiness was so pure, completely unblemished by the war. He had to look away, he couldn't face the idea of robbing her this love.

When he looked up again, he found her dancing with Charlie, and felt her husband coming to stand next to him.

"She means everything to me," he heard him whisper. "You keep her safe."

"I will," promised Harry.

"She won't stay behind, and you'd probably die without her," said the red headed man.

"Yeah, I know," said Harry.

A strong hand gripped Harry's shoulder and an amazed whispered left Fred's lips. "I married her."

"I know."

"Hermione Granger is my wife," he said with a broken a chuckle. "I-I can't lose her."

Harry wasn't able to reply, for Kingsley's patronus lit the large tent with its warning and chaos quickly ensured. Hermione was by his side in an instant, letting her delicate fingers ghost over Fred's face before taking his arm disapparating him and Ron.

She cried herself to sleep on most nights. And a few times he'd even heard her call Fred's name. It was during those nights that he'd crawl next to her, he had to keep her safe, he'd promised he would, she'd be safe even from her own nightmares.

Each day that went by with meager meals and fruitless research broke her heart a little, when Ron left, her heart broke a little more. But even then, she stood firmly by his side, relentlessly faithful, and for that, he owed her more than what he'd ever be able to repay.

"Tell me about him," he asked her over a bowl of watery stew.

"Who are you talking about?" She asked, not bothering to look up from her copy of the Tales.

"Your husband," he said.

She looked up, the book falling forgotten to the ground. "How do you...? Why?"

"Your last name changed, in the map I mean."

"I-I..." she stuttered.

"It's just us here, you shouldn't have to hide that, at least from me."

"I miss him. I miss him so much."

She told him about their little wedding in the flat above the shop. She told him that they toasted with warm butter beer and had shared a bar of Honeydukes' finest instead of cake. She showed him her ring and the "I solemnly swear" inscription on it. That night they went to sleep feeling lighter than they had felt in months.

Her heart didn't mend when Ron came back, or when they finally had the sword in their hands. She was tired, of people dying, of having to hide, of Voldemort and this war.

He tried to forget everything that followed Ron's return. And for the most part he succeeded, except at night, when he's mind took him back to the Malfoy Manor and he heard her tortured screams. The Final Battle was horrible. So many died, and so many more were left injured and broken. But they survived. At the end of it all, he stood, like always, with Hermione to his side.

Even though he was exhausted, and his whole body hurt, and his heart was ripped with grief. He had one last duty to fulfill. Gently taking her hand in his, he led Hermione back into the castle. Quickly locating a huddled group of redheads he pulled her in their direction.

He spared Percy a quick nod, relieved that the collapsed wall had merely broken his bones and he'd be fine in time. He went straight for Fred instead. He had a nasty cut on his arms, but looked whole otherwise.

"Fred," called Harry.

The somber twin looked away from his injured brother. His eyes immediately going to the girl next to the-boy-who-lived.

"Hermione has been the closest thing to a family I've had. She has been mine to protect, she has been mine to take care of for the last seven years," he started.

"I haven't been very good at it and she has suffered terribly because of it. She deserves to be happy now, to be the most important person in our lives. I wasn't there when you got married, but I am here now and I'm trusting you with her happiness," tears prickled in his eyes.

"Make her feel as important and as loved as she deserves," he place her hand in Fred's. "Promise me Fred, promise me like I promised you."

"I promise," Fred vowed.

Hermione threw her arms around Harry and held him close, her tears damp against his chest. "I love you Harry Potter," she whispered, pulling his face closer and placing a kiss on his forehead.

"I love you too," he replied, shifting her into Fred's waiting arms.

He watched them hold each other, both crying tears of relief and grief and happiness and of terrible sadness. He watched as Fred gently kissed her and whispered in the only words that could sooth the wounded girl. Their reunion made his grief a little lighter and their love assuaged his guilt.

They gave him something he hadn't had in a long time; hope. And hope was something he'd protect fiercely. Hope was precious.

He'd always watch over Hermione, she'd always be his sister and one of the most important people in his life. She deserved everything the world had to give and Harry was glad he had Fred to help him give it to her.

He watched the couple until he felt a small hand slipping into his. Instinctively he squeezed back, knowing immediately who it belong to. It took him a moment to shift his eyes to the girl next to him.

"I think it's time for us to be happy too," he told her.

"Yes, it is," said Ginny closing her eyes as his lips fell over hers.

 **AN: Please Read and Review!**


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